Living in Travis Country

EXTRA, EXTRA! Read all about it in next month's Travis Country Notes issue!

Don't forget to submit your real estate questions to be featured in next month's Travis Country Notes! Enjoy Real Estate Tips and Tricks Courtesy of your TC Neighbor and REALTOR, Ricky Cain!

Our column will cover any real estate questions or tips you may have. We take pride in being a source of information to all our clients, past clients, and neighbors. Simply email your questions to ask@thecainteam.com to be featured in our column.

Our first column will be placed in the June issue of Travis Country Notes, accompanied by Monthly Market statistics for the amazing TC community. We look forward to serving any questions you have! Happy Friday!

Our column will cover any real estate questions or tips you may have. We take pride in being a source of information to all our clients, past clients, and neighbors. Simply email your questions to ask@thecainteam.com to be featured in our column.

Our first column will be placed in the June issue of Travis Country Notes, accompanied by Monthly Market statistics for the amazing TC community. We look forward to serving any questions you have, and wish you a blessed weekend!

As you may or may not know, a "Big Why" behind why the team and I are passionate about selling homes is the opportunity to greater fund our mission of serving our clients, past clients, and community in times of severe need. We do this through funding our non-profit, Cain Cares, after every home sale. We have chosen to stay "home" for our first community outreach event.

I'm asking for your assistance in helping me to identify someone or a family in our neighborhood that may be in a severe time of need and/or may be barely scraping by. As a result, perhaps their house is in disarray. Many of us have been through tough times in our life, God knows my family and I have. We'd like to identify this person or family, and spend an entire day at their house and help to improve their property. This will depend on the property of course, yet this could include items such as landscaping/yard work, painting, flooring, cleaning, light remodeling, etc. We will have the entire team helping, as well as our trusted vendors that are applicable to what the need would be.

We will be doing this event April 7th, yet we are looking to identify some candidates sooner than later. I'd be extremely grateful if you'd take some time to think about who could be impacted by our mission. If you can share this on any applicable social media channels, that too would be appreciated.

Please see click here to nominate someone you know of or share with them directly and let them nominate themselves.

“A house is made of bricks and beams. A home is made of hopes and dreams.” Let's give someone in our neighborhood a home again. Thank you from the bottom...

As Austin grows, our interactions with wildlife increase. To keep coyotes and other wildlife wild, we can follow a few, simple preventative measures:

Always keep trash and compost in a secure bin

Keep your barbecue grill clean

Keep the area under your fruit and nut trees free of droppings (a coyote’s diet can be up to 40% fruit in Texas)

Avoid feeding pets outdoors (if you must feed pets outside, feed during the daytime and remove the uneaten food as soon as the animal has finished).

Feeding wildlife and feral cats can attract coyotes. In addition to coyotes eating the food, mice and other animals will be drawn to leftovers, which can subsequently attract predators such as foxes and coyotes.

Hazing

To discourage coyotes from associating people with safety and food, eliminate the food sources around your yard and engage in hazing if you see a coyote on your property. Hazing is a process used to reinforce a coyote’s natural wariness without harming them. To haze, be big and loud: Wave your arms, shout, use noisemakers, throw non-edible objects in its direction (but not at it), or spray the animal with a hose. It shouldn’t take much for the coyote to get the memo -- just be persistent and maintain eye contact. Do not haze if a coyote is sick, injured, with pups, or is in its territory or out at night.

Pet safety

Keep small pets inside when possible and monitor them while outside. While walking dogs, use a secure, 4-6 foot leash and do not let dogs explore vegetation that you can’t see through. It is advised that pets be fed indoors. If pets must be fed outdoors, feed during the daytime and remove food as soon as your pet is finished....

- FREE Movie style popcorn, double feature, pizza, and drinks (water, Capri Suns, and sodas) generously - provided by the TC Social Committee and Travis Country HOA.- DINNER: Pizza will be available for free starting at 6pm or you can bring your own picnic.

Friends and family, young and old - you are all invited to this fun free event! Please invite all your neighbors and RSVP so we can get a good guess at attendance for the night.

Be sure to bring chairs and possibly blankets to spread out on the Hilltop parking lot.

We have exciting news for all of our Travis Country residents and friends! We are growing and adding to our Loyalty and Rewards program monthly and don't want you to miss out. Cain Club is our way of giving back to our clients, neighbors, and friends by showing our gratitude for the continued support.

Check out this quick video to get the scoop on our amazing program, and then head to Cain Club to get started TODAY!

Although there are many greenbelts in the Austin area, there is one, in particular, that is an obvious crowd favorite. Barton Creek Greenbelt is so beloved by the locals, that it is commonly referred to as "the Greenbelt." Located in Central-South Austin the Barton Creek Greenbelt features 12.68 miles of gorgeous trails and is considered one of the top hiking trails in Texas.

Barton Creek comes with lots of exciting activities and sites for the whole family to enjoy. Spend your weekend's mountain biking, rock climbing in the limestone bluffs, and swimming in the creeks. Get the family out of the house and enjoy a day with nature, at this beloved greenbelt!

Cain Realty Group is excited to announce an addition to our awards and honors, the 2017 Neighborhood Favorite award courtesy of Nextdoor. In addition to being your Travis Country neighbor, we take pride in being Austin's Most Trusted Home Buying and Home Selling team. To continue to provide world-class home buying and home selling service we are eager to hear feedback on your experience. We appreciate everyone who takes the time to review us and would like to offer an incentive to do so!

For every review completed, receive points on our Loyalty and Rewards membership program, Cain Club! It's simple, just log in to your account, follow the link to the review site, complete the review, and we will award your points upon confirming the review.

We are so thankful for an amazing year of serving our clients, neighbors, and friends. We look forward to serving you all in 2018 also. As always, if you or anyone you know has any real estate related questions, we are always a phone call away. Have a blessed Tuesday!

Christmas is our favorite time of year, as everyone is in such a joyous and giving spirit. The holidays truly bring people together and we love getting to show our appreciation and share the spirit with our neighbors.

Cain Realty Group is extremely honored to have the opportunity to showcase our love for this community by decorating the Travis Country entrance sign. Being Travis Country residents is very dear to our heart and we enjoy sharing it with all of you. We hope our piece of Christmas cheer brings you joy everytime you enter Travis Country. We wish you a Merry Christmas!

The TC Social Committee is hosting a Halloween Movie night in Travis Country Circle!! Come enjoy some Halloween spirit with a holiday classic and spooky cartoon for kids of all ages and then stay for a fun full-length movie!

Be sure to bring blankets and possibly chairs (especially the short river chairs so you don't obstruct folks' views behind you) to spread out on the lawn behind the TC Office, outside the fence by the dive pool.

With New Yea'rs Eve just one night away, everybody's excited to celebrate the coming of 2017! But don't let the excitement cloud your judgment. New Year's Eve is one of a few occasions where many get hurt. To stay safe as we celebrate the New Year, here are some safety tips we have compiled for you:

1. Don't Drink & Drive -New Year's Eve is a time to party, so expect that you'll be enjoying a few "happy drinks" even if you didn't intend to because you were driving home. Instead of planning the evening out like this, don't bring your car and take a taxi. Better yet, join a carpool or ride with someone sober and have this arrangement finalized before you start drinking. We're not saying it's best to stay sober when everyone else is partying hard; you might not want to sober, but you sure want to be safe, right?

2. Check the house before leaving -aside from the rare chance of a housefire starting due to firecrackers, it's more likely for a housefire to start when appliances are left turned on or problematic electrical systems mysteriously decide to act up when you're not home. It's best to close all doors and windows before you leave to prevent firecrakers from accidentally getting into the house. Turn off the lights and appliances, too. It's best to have your home checked for fire safety annually to rid yourself of this worry. Oh, and make sure that your grill is off after cooking that pre-party BBQ with the family.

3. Bring some crackers and water before travelling - What the-- are you serious, Cain Realty Group? Well, if you are one of the many who needs to go on a long commute home to celebrate with the family, the traffic jams along the way can prove too much for a stomach looking forward to the family's New Year's eve dinner. Just prepare for a possible extended travel time and avoid coming home all grumpy because you are hungry and missed dinner by five hours (or more!)....

Raising a family not only entails the commitment of a couple to grow with each other. The community is also involved in the rearing process, as kids need a positive influence in AND out of the home. A community that is conducive for raising a family is probably the most important yet most uncited criteria when couples choose a home. And now that it is time to give thanks for the bountiful year that it has been, it is only fitting for us to appreciate the wonderful communities where we have situated our families to grow.

As a Thanksgiving special, Cain Realty Group's Ricky and KodiKay Cain would like to share a message of gratitude for the community that has helped them raise their son, Jaxon. Living in Travis Country, the real estate power couple have nothing but kind words to say about the home and the community that have sheltered their family over the years. Here are the things that make them grateful to live in an amazing community called Travis Country:

Ricky's Words of Gratitude:

I'm grateful for living in a neighborhood where everyone says hi and waves when you drive or walk past them.

I'm grateful for the strong sense of community that routinely looks out and after their own.

The chilly weather and the quick-changing color of the leaves are sure signs-- winter is just around the corner. While we are excited about the Holiday season and the milder climate, there isn't really much to do in the winter months, especially at Travis Country. But winter need not be boring at Travis Country. Over the years, the homeowners association has engaged community members to participate in local events that not only bring neighbors together, but also make the Travis Country community a beautiful and meaningful place to raise kids. Here are the most common activities you can do/organize at Travis Country to have a meaningful winter this year:

1. Donate - now's a good year to check out your closets and take out the things you no longer need. A family in need would be very grateful to receive your wonderful presents. Make Christmas early for them by giving your donations.

2. Clean the Yard; Mulch the Garden - while it rarely snows in Austin (just once, for as far as I can remember), it doesn't mean that your plants are immune to the sudden drop in temperature. Mulch the garden and clean the yard; your plants will be quick to recover in spring (just in time for garden parties and home selling, if you are planning to) if you do so.

3. Hold a Yard Sale - With only a few major events to expect for the remainder of 2016, our prospects are bit boring. Engage the community with a yard sale and have some commercial fun on the block with your neighbors.

4. Arrange a Potluck - What better way to spend the gloomy days than to spend time cuddling with family and bonding with friends after a hearty, shared meal? Arrange a potluck and enjoy the warmth of indoors.

5. Join a Community Bazaar - Christmas is just around the corner, so expect to find bazaars popping out everywhere. Take note of schedules and shop til you drop! Bazaars are always fun places for new and interesting finds!